Random House New Releases - Social Science - Sociology - Ruralhttp://www.randomhouse.com/category/www.randomhouse.com2006-03-13T11:23:00-05:00Hillbilly Women by Skye Moodywww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780804173698"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780804173698" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780804173698">Hillbilly Women</a> Struggle and Survival in Southern Appalachia<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=223900">Skye Moody</a></h3><b>eBook</b>, 272 pages | Anchor | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Social Science - Women's Studies | <b>$11.99</b> | 978-0-8041-7369-8 (0-8041-7369-9)<p>&ldquo;This book tells what it means to be a woman when you are poor, when you are proud, and when you are a hillbilly.&rdquo;<br><br> First published in 1973, Skye Moody&rsquo;s <i>Hillbilly Women</i> shares the stunning and raw oral histories of nineteen women in twentieth-century Southern Appalachia, from their day-to-day struggles for survival to the personal triumphs of their hardscrabble existence. They are wives, widows, and daughters of coal miners; factory hands, tobacco graders, cotton mill workers, and farmers; and women who value honest labor, self-esteem, and dignity. Shining a much-needed light into a misunderstood culture and identity, the stories within reflect the universally human struggle to live meaningful and dignified lives.<br><br><br>Updated with a new introduction and material from the author.</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97808041736982014-05-06T00:30:00-05:00The End of Country by Seamus McGrawwww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780812980646"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780812980646" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780812980646">The End of Country</a> Dispatches from the Frack Zone<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=98088">Seamus McGraw</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 256 pages | Random House Trade Paperbacks | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Business & Economics - Industries - Energy Industries; Social Science - Sociology | <b>$16.00</b> | 978-0-8129-8064-6 (0-8129-8064-6)<p><p><b>&ldquo;A rare, honest, beautiful, and, yes, sometimes heartbreaking examination of the echoes of water-powered natural gas drilling&mdash;or fracking&mdash;in the human community . . . vivid, personal and emotional.&rdquo;&mdash;Minneapolis <i>Star Tribune </i></b><br> <b>&#160;</b><br> Susquehanna County, in the remote northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, is a community of stoic, low-income dairy farmers and homesteaders seeking haven from suburban sprawl&mdash;and the site of the Marcellus Shale, a natural gas deposit worth more than one trillion dollars. In <i>The End of Country,</i> journalist and area native Seamus McGraw opens a window on the battle for control of this land, revealing a conflict that pits petrodollar billionaires and the forces of corporate America against a band of locals determined to extract their fair share of the windfall&mdash;but not at the cost of their values or their way of life. Rich with a sense of place and populated by unforgettable personalities, McGraw tells a tale of greed, hubris, and envy, but also of hope, family, and the land that binds them all together.<br> &#160;<br> <b>&ldquo;To tell a great story, you need a great story. Seamus McGraw . . . has lived a great story. . . . [He] is just one of its many characters&mdash;very real characters&mdash;caught up in a very human story in which they must make tough, life-altering decisions for themselves, their community, and ultimately their country.&rdquo;&mdash;Allentown <i>Morning Call</i></b><br> <b><i>&#160;</i></b><br> <b>&ldquo;Compelling . . . <i>The End of Country </i>is like a phone call from a close friend or relative living smack-dab in the middle of the Pennsylvania gas rush. . . . Anyone with even a passing interest in the [fracking debate should] read it.&rdquo;&mdash;Harrisburg <i>Patriot-News</i></b><br> <b><i>&#160;</i></b><br> <b>&ldquo;This cautionary tale should be required reading for all those tempted by the calling cards of easy money and precarious peace of mind.&rdquo;&mdash;Tom Brokaw</b><br> <b><i>&#160;</i></b><br> <b>&ldquo;A page-turner . . . McGraw brings us to the front lines of the U.S. energy revolution to deliver an honest and humbling account that could hardly possess greater relevance.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>The Humanist</i></b></p></p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97808129806462012-07-10T00:30:00-05:00The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygerswww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781607743750"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9781607743750" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781607743750">The Complete Modern Blacksmith</a> <br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=105537">Alexander Weygers</a></h3><b>eBook</b>, 304 pages | Ten Speed Press | Crafts & Hobbies - Metal Work; Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Technology - Technical & Manufacturing Industries & Trades | <b>$14.99</b> | 978-1-60774-375-0 (1-60774-375-2)<p>A truly unusual and unique resource, this extremely hands-on book brings together three popular but long-out-of-print classics (THE MODERN BLACKSMITH; THE RECYCLING, USE, AND REPAIR OF TOOLS; and THE MAKING OF TOOLS) essential for anyone interested in the making, repair, maintenance, or arcana of tools. An essential volume in any serious craftperson's library, this book covers setting up a smithy (anvil, forge, hammer, tongs, and all), and manufacturing everything from stone-carving chisels to decorative wall hooks.<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i></p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97816077437502012-03-07T00:30:00-05:00A Fortunate Man by John Bergerwww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307794185"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780307794185" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307794185">A Fortunate Man</a> The Story of a Country Doctor<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=2062">John Berger</a></h3><b>eBook</b>, 176 pages | Vintage | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Medical - Physician & Patient; Medical - Family & General Practice | <b>$11.99</b> | 978-0-307-79418-5 (0-307-79418-0)<p>In this quietly revolutionary work of social observation and medical philosophy, Booker Prize-winning writer John Berger and the photographer Jean Mohr train their gaze on an English country doctor and find a universal man--one who has taken it upon himself to recognize his patient's humanity when illness and the fear of death have made them unrecognizable to themselves. In the impoverished rural community in which he works, John Sassall tend the maimed, the dying, and the lonely. He is not only the dispenser of cures but the repository of memories. And as Berger and Mohr follow Sassall about his rounds, they produce a book whose careful detail broadens into a meditation on the value we assign a human life. First published thirty years ago, <b>A Fortunate Man</b> remains moving and deeply relevant--no other book has offered such a close and passionate investigation of the roles doctors play in their society.<br><br><br><br>&quot;In contemporary letters John Berger seems to me peerless; not since Lawrence has there been a writer who offers such attentiveness to the sensual world with responsiveness to the imperatives of conscience.&quot;--Susan Sontag<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i></p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97803077941852011-07-13T00:30:00-05:00The End of Country by Seamus McGrawwww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679604310"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780679604310" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679604310">The End of Country</a> Dispatches from the Frack Zone<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=98088">Seamus McGraw</a></h3><b>eBook</b>0 | Random House | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Business & Economics - Industries - Energy Industries; Social Science - Sociology | <b>$13.99</b> | 978-0-679-60431-0 (0-679-60431-6)<p><b>&ldquo;A rare, honest, beautiful, and, yes, sometimes heartbreaking examination of the echoes of water-powered natural gas drilling&mdash;or fracking&mdash;in the human community . . . vivid, personal and emotional.&rdquo;&mdash;Minneapolis <i>Star Tribune </i></b><br> <b>&#160;</b><br> Susquehanna County, in the remote northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, is a community of stoic, low-income dairy farmers and homesteaders seeking haven from suburban sprawl&mdash;and the site of the Marcellus Shale, a natural gas deposit worth more than one trillion dollars. In <i>The End of Country,</i> journalist and area native Seamus McGraw opens a window on the battle for control of this land, revealing a conflict that pits petrodollar billionaires and the forces of corporate America against a band of locals determined to extract their fair share of the windfall&mdash;but not at the cost of their values or their way of life. Rich with a sense of place and populated by unforgettable personalities, McGraw tells a tale of greed, hubris, and envy, but also of hope, family, and the land that binds them all together.<br> &#160;<br> <b>&ldquo;To tell a great story, you need a great story. Seamus McGraw . . . has lived a great story. . . . [He] is just one of its many characters&mdash;very real characters&mdash;caught up in a very human story in which they must make tough, life-altering decisions for themselves, their community, and ultimately their country.&rdquo;&mdash;Allentown <i>Morning Call</i></b><br> <b><i>&#160;</i></b><br> <b>&ldquo;Compelling . . . <i>The End of Country </i>is like a phone call from a close friend or relative living smack-dab in the middle of the Pennsylvania gas rush. . . . Anyone with even a passing interest in the [fracking debate should] read it.&rdquo;&mdash;Harrisburg <i>Patriot-News</i></b><br> <b><i>&#160;</i></b><br> <b>&ldquo;This cautionary tale should be required reading for all those tempted by the calling cards of easy money and precarious peace of mind.&rdquo;&mdash;Tom Brokaw</b><br> <b><i>&#160;</i></b><br> <b>&ldquo;A page-turner . . . McGraw brings us to the front lines of the U.S. energy revolution to deliver an honest and humbling account that could hardly possess greater relevance.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>The Humanist</i></b></p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97806796043102011-06-28T00:30:00-05:00Hollowing Out the Middle by Maria J. Kefalaswww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780807006146"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780807006146" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780807006146">Hollowing Out the Middle</a> The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=119886">Patrick J. Carr</a> and <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=119887">Maria J. Kefalas</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 256 pages | Beacon Press | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Social Science - Demography; Social Science | <b>$17.00</b> | 978-0-8070-0614-6 (0-8070-0614-9)<p>In 2001, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, sociologists Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas moved to Iowa to understand the rural brain drain and the exodus of young people from America&rsquo;s countryside. They met and followed working-class &ldquo;stayers&rdquo;; ambitious and college-bound &ldquo;achievers&rdquo;; &ldquo;seekers,&rdquo; who head off to war to see what the world beyond offers; and &ldquo;returners,&rdquo; who eventually circle back to their hometowns. What surprised them most was that adults in the community were playing a pivotal part in the town&rsquo;s decline by pushing the best and brightest young people to leave.<br><br>In a timely, new afterword, Carr and Kefalas address the question &ldquo;so what can be done to save our communities?&rdquo; They profile the efforts of dedicated community leaders actively resisting the hollowing out of Middle America. These individuals have creatively engaged small town youth&mdash;stayers and returners, seekers and achievers&mdash;and have implemented a variety of programs to combat the rural brain drain.&#160; These stories of civic engagement will certainly inspire and encourage readers struggling to defend their communities.</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97808070061462010-07-27T00:30:00-05:00Hollowing Out the Middle by Maria J. Kefalaswww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780807042397"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780807042397" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780807042397">Hollowing Out the Middle</a> The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=119886">Patrick J. Carr</a> and <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=119887">Maria J. Kefalas</a></h3><b>eBook</b>0 | Beacon Press | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Social Science - Demography; Social Science | <b>$26.95</b> | 978-0-8070-4239-7 (0-8070-4239-0)<p>In 2001, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, sociologists Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas moved to Iowa to understand the rural brain drain and the exodus of young people from America&rsquo;s countryside. They met and followed working-class &ldquo;stayers&rdquo;; ambitious and college-bound &ldquo;achievers&rdquo;; &ldquo;seekers,&rdquo; who head off to war to see what the world beyond offers; and &ldquo;returners,&rdquo; who eventually circle back to their hometowns. What surprised them most was that adults in the community were playing a pivotal part in the town&rsquo;s decline by pushing the best and brightest young people to leave.<br><br>In a timely, new afterword, Carr and Kefalas address the question &ldquo;so what can be done to save our communities?&rdquo; They profile the efforts of dedicated community leaders actively resisting the hollowing out of Middle America. These individuals have creatively engaged small town youth&mdash;stayers and returners, seekers and achievers&mdash;and have implemented a variety of programs to combat the rural brain drain.&#160; These stories of civic engagement will certainly inspire and encourage readers struggling to defend their communities.<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i></p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97808070423972009-10-01T00:30:00-05:00Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageantwww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307339379"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780307339379" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307339379">Deer Hunting with Jesus</a> Dispatches from America's Class War<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=70045">Joe Bageant</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 288 pages | Broadway Books | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Social Science - Social Classes | <b>$15.00</b> | 978-0-307-33937-9 (0-307-33937-8)<p>A raucous, truth-telling look at the white working poor-and why they hate liberalism.<br><br><i>Deer Hunting with Jesus</i> is web columnist Joe Bageant&#8217;s report on what he learned when he moved back to his hometown of Winchester, Virginia, which-like countless American small towns-is fast becoming the bedrock of a permanent underclass. By turns brutal, tender, incendiary, and seriously funny, this book is a call to arms for fellow progressives with little real understanding of &quot;the great beery, NASCAR-loving, church-going, gun-owning America that has never set foot in a Starbucks.&quot;</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97803073393792008-06-24T00:30:00-05:00At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O'Brienwww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385721394"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780385721394" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385721394">At Home in the Heart of Appalachia</a> <br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=22457">John O'Brien</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 320 pages | Anchor | Biography & Autobiography - Personal Memoirs; Social Science - Sociology - Rural | <b>$18.00</b> | 978-0-385-72139-4 (0-385-72139-0)<p>John O&#8217;Brien was raised in Philadelphia by an Appalachian father who fled the mountains to escape crippling poverty and family tragedy. Years later, with a wife and two kids of his own, the son moved back into those mountains in an attempt to understand both himself and the father from whom he&#8217;d become estranged. <br><br>At once a poignant memoir and a tribute to America's most misunderstood region,<b><i> </i>At Home in the Heart of Appalachia </b>describes a lush land of voluptuous summers, woodsmoke winters, and breathtaking autumns and springs. John O'Brien sees through the myths about Appalachia to its people and the mountain culture that has sustained them. And he takes to task na&#239;ve missionaries and rapacious industrialists who are the real source of much of the region's woe as well as its lingering hillbilly stereotypes. Finally, and profoundly, he comes to terms with the atavistic demons that haunt the relations between Appalachian fathers and sons.</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97803857213942002-09-17T00:30:00-05:00Plain Reader by Scott Savagewww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345414342"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780345414342" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345414342">Plain Reader</a> <br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=26985">Scott Savage</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 272 pages | Ballantine Books | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Social Science - Customs & Traditions; Social Science - Sociology - Marriage & Family | <b>$19.00</b> | 978-0-345-41434-2 (0-345-41434-9)<p>&quot;If information highways are the wave of the future then I will build information country roads on which the traveller can reach the truth faster by going slower. . . .&quot;<br><br>On these same country roads, far from the intrusions of modern technology, the Amish, Quakers, and other &quot;plain folk&quot; live their unencumbered lives, close to the land, in peaceful, smoothly-run communities. The thought-provoking, often challenging essays in The Plain Reader are written by men and women who rarely speak outside the borders of their local townships, and provide us with unique perspectives on life stripped down to necessity. Originally published in Plain Magazine, these pieces are sure to inspire reflection. <br><br>Reading about a garden cooperative in Connecticut, the raising of a home with only plaster and straw in hand, a fascinating trip to New York City through Amish eyes, compels each of us wonder: Can I too survive without television or that high-tech appliance cluttering my kitchen counter? Am I just a cog in the wheel of the global economy? Is isolation from one another and from the earth the simple destiny of humankind? Each rich, personal essay in this provocative collection offers solace, wisdom, joy, and quiet space for contemplation.</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97803454143421998-05-05T00:30:00-05:00A Fortunate Man by John Bergerwww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679737261"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780679737261" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679737261">A Fortunate Man</a> The Story of a Country Doctor<br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=2062">John Berger</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 176 pages | Vintage | Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Medical - Physician & Patient; Medical - Family & General Practice | <b>$15.00</b> | 978-0-679-73726-1 (0-679-73726-X)<p>In this quietly revolutionary work of social observation and medical philosophy, Booker Prize-winning writer John Berger and the photographer Jean Mohr train their gaze on an English country doctor and find a universal man--one who has taken it upon himself to recognize his patient's humanity when illness and the fear of death have made them unrecognizable to themselves. In the impoverished rural community in which he works, John Sassall tend the maimed, the dying, and the lonely. He is not only the dispenser of cures but the repository of memories. And as Berger and Mohr follow Sassall about his rounds, they produce a book whose careful detail broadens into a meditation on the value we assign a human life. First published thirty years ago, <b>A Fortunate Man</b> remains moving and deeply relevant--no other book has offered such a close and passionate investigation of the roles doctors play in their society.<br><br><br><br>&quot;In contemporary letters John Berger seems to me peerless; not since Lawrence has there been a writer who offers such attentiveness to the sensual world with responsiveness to the imperatives of conscience.&quot;--Susan Sontag</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97806797372611997-03-25T00:30:00-05:00The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygerswww.randomhouse.com<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780898158960"><img align="right" src="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/catalog_cover.pperl?9780898158960" border="1"/></a><h3><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780898158960">The Complete Modern Blacksmith</a> <br/><b>Written by</b> <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=105537">Alexander Weygers</a></h3><b>Trade Paperback</b>, 304 pages | Ten Speed Press | Crafts & Hobbies - Metal Work; Social Science - Sociology - Rural; Technology - Technical & Manufacturing Industries & Trades | <b>$19.99</b> | 978-0-89815-896-0 (0-89815-896-6)<p>A truly unusual and unique resource, this extremely hands-on book brings together three popular but long-out-of-print classics (THE MODERN BLACKSMITH; THE RECYCLING, USE, AND REPAIR OF TOOLS; and THE MAKING OF TOOLS) essential for anyone interested in the making, repair, maintenance, or arcana of tools. An essential volume in any serious craftperson's library, this book covers setting up a smithy (anvil, forge, hammer, tongs, and all), and manufacturing everything from stone-carving chisels to decorative wall hooks.</p><br clear="all">http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=97808981589601997-02-01T00:30:00-05:00